Fall is finally here in Dallas, TX! That means cooler weather, and unfortunately, that also means some cool-season weeds are starting to show up in your yard. While many homeowners assume the weeds will go dormant like their grass in the winter, do not be fooled. Those pesky cool-season weeds will ruin your yard in the fall and winter months! Not only that, but dealing with the weeds in the spring will be significantly harder than handling them now. Here a few tips for getting rid of those fall weeds from the experts at CGreens Landscape Management!
Timing
Getting the timing of your weed treatments right is critical for their success. You want to make sure you apply your herbicide before the weeds go dormant and shift over to internal nutrients. This mainly applies to perennial weeds. If you apply your herbicide at the right time (the fall), the weeds will absorb it through their leaves and send the chemical to the roots, killing the plant for good.
The proper window for applying your weed killer will differ by region. In states that get cold quickly, that window is significantly shorter. However, in Dallas, we can effectively apply herbicides throughout early to mid-October. Remember, herbicides are most effective when the air temperature is above 50 degrees.
Types of Fall Weeds
The weeds you will want to try to get rid of in the fall are generally fall-germinating. These include Henebit and chickweed. Understanding what types of weeds you are treating is important because this essentially tells you what kind of weed killer you need.
In the fall, we recommend finding one that combines both pre- and post-emergent herbicides. This will tackle weeds that have already started growing (mainly perennials like we mentioned earlier) as well as the fall-germinating weeds that have not shown up in your yard quite yet. The pre-emergent will seep into the soil, and make sure to kill some of those fall-germinating weeds before they pop up all over your yard.
The other, slightly more difficult, weed varieties to deal with are crabgrass and bluegrass. Luckily there are crabgrass preventers specifically designed for dealing with these frustrating, tough weeds.
Two other weeds that start showing up when the weather cools down are wild onion and wild garlic. The bright green weeds will stick out like a sore thumb when your yard goes dormant and turns brown. Luckily, since they are so easy to spot, using a post-emergent herbicide is not difficult.
Dealing with weeds is a frustrating year around. Sometimes, no matter how much you try, they will not go away. That is there CGreens comes in! CGreens Landscape Management has been helping Dallas, Texas residents create the yards of their dreams since 1980! If you are struggling to rid your yard of hideous weeds, give CGreens Landscape Management a call today!
